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CALIFORNIA GOLD RUSH ATTRACTS IMMIGRANTS
Gold discovered in Sutters' Mill, California draws Chinese Immigrants into flocking to the United States -
FOREIGN MINERS' TAX CREATES ISSUE
The Foreign Miners’ Tax was an Act passed by the United States imposing a tax of $20/month on foreign miners, mainly targeting Chinese and Mexican miners -
CHINESE IMMIGRANTS RECRUITED AS RAILROAD WORKERS
Central Pacific Railroad recruits ultimately 15,000 Chinese workers giving them the most difficult and dangerous work while receiving 30-50 percent lower wages than whites -
BUILDING THE TRANSCONTINENTAL RAILROAD
From 1863 to 1869, roughly 15,000 Chinese workers helped build the Transcontinental Railroad -
SECOND WAVE OF IMMIGRANTS FLOCK TO AMERICA
The Nationals of Hong Kong did not follow the same movement barriers as mainland Chinese and arrived in the late 1870s. This was the beginning of a second wave of Chinese migration to the United States. -
WIDESPREAD ECONOMIC DEPRESSION
By the 1870s, there was widespread economic depression in America and jobs became scarce, hostility had also been growing towards Chinese American workers -
CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT
Chinese Exclusion Act; prohibits Chinese immigration and in one year Chinese immigrants drops from 40,000 to 23 -
GEARY ACT ENDS CHINESE EXCLUSION ACT
Geary Act; required Chinese Americans to carry a certificate of residence ending the Chinese Exclusion Act -
EXTENDING GEARY ACT
Senate passes bill continuing Chinese Exclusion laws, extending Geary Act to 1904 -
RECORDS DESTROYED
Earthquake destroys all records in San Francisco, including immigration records. This opens the opportunity for a new surge of Chinese immigrants. The U.S. government creates the Bureau of Immigration.